Gov Alia Visits Food Basket Brewery, Reaffirms Commitment to Benue’s Industrial Advancement

From Dooshima Terkura, Makurdi

Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, on Friday toured the ongoing construction site of the Food Basket Brewery located in Akile, along the Makurdi–Gboko Road.

He was joined by the Commissioner for Trade, Industry, and Investment, Hon. Alumo Orpin; the Group Managing Director of the Benue Investment and Property Company Limited (BIPC), Dr. Raymond Asemakaha-CFA; and other senior management officials of the company.

The brewery’s Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Adoje, led the team through major installations at the site.

During the inspection, Dr. Asemakaha introduced the governor to a team of Chinese expatriates currently installing the EBI machines, a vital component of the facility. He also expressed concern over the shortage of relevant technical skills among Benue youth, noting the high cost of relying on foreign expertise.

According to him, “One of the expatriates has been here for 92 days and earns $250 per day without any certificate, excluding feeding and accommodation.”

In immediate response, Governor Alia directed BIPC to select 12 young people from across Benue’s geopolitical zones for a six-week specialized training program in China on the operation and maintenance of the EBI machines.

He explained that the trainees would be organized into four batches to build local technical capacity and reduce long-term dependence on foreign contractors.

Addressing a large gathering of community members who turned out in support of the brewery project, Governor Alia urged them to take ownership of the facility and protect it as a shared investment.

He described the brewery and other ongoing infrastructural projects—such as roads and underpasses—as “a tip of the iceberg,” assuring that Benue would experience full-scale industrial and infrastructural development by 2027.

The governor also encouraged residents to participate in the ongoing voter registration exercise to ensure their eligibility in the upcoming elections.

The Food Basket Brewery stands as one of the flagship industrial initiatives of the Alia administration, executed through BIPC as part of a broader plan to drive industrialization and economic renewal in Benue State.